Shadows of the Remnants
by Soleneus
Summary: As tensions rise, one man appears, protecting the innocent and punishing the wicked. He is sought by both factions, to die or be used. But he is a Shadow. And Naruto, a charming and mysterious blond gets accepted into Beacon Academy. But what is their connection? Is there one? Maybe. Who cares? The girls are pretty, monsters need killing, and Lady Luck is on his side. Time to Rock.
1. They Called Him Bartender

With the pounding music and flashing lights, and dance-floor packed with writhing bodies, The Club was bouncing and business was booming.

The boss of The Club was a man named Junior. He wore casual business attire, forgoing the jacket for a pair of black gloves and sunglasses.

The man he was talking to is named Roman Torchwick, one of the most proficient crime-bosses in Vale. He had a feminine face with orange hair, topped by a black bowler hat with a red band, along with a long white coat and a cane.

Junior had been standing by the bar, looking over the dance floor when Roman had approached him. "Junior, my good henchman-providing friend, how is business tonight?"

The bearded man twitched at the friendly, condescending tone. "Fine, Torchwick. Is there something you need?"

Roman smirked and tapped his cane on the ground. "Why, yes, there is something I need. Or rather, 'somethings' I need. But first, isn't it polite for the host to offer the guest a drink?"

He rapped his cane on the counter and turned to the bartender. "You-" He was stopped by the man setting his favorite drink, an Atomic Appletini, on the counter. "Ah, good. Thank you."

Roman casually flicked a ten-Lien chip at the bartender and took a sip from his drink. "Ah, delicious. Now, business. I need four men for a job."

Now, Junior wasn't the brightest bulb, but suspicion was natural. "What kind of job?" He asked lowly.

The red-haired man flicked his bangs out of his eyes. "Just some simple over-the-counter burglary. I need someone to carry the goods."

Junior mulled it over for a minute. "How many men?"

"Four." Roman answered, draining the last of his drink.

"Two thousand Lien."

The man smirked and gave Junior a pitying look that didn't match the condescending tone. "Please, that is more than any counter store would have. Eight hundred Lien."

As Junior opened his mouth to complain, Roman patted him on the cheek in a patronizing fashion. "Junior, Junior, Junior." He clucked disapprovingly. "Have I not been a loyal customer? Should I not get a _discount?_"

Two girls, one wearing a white dress and the other a red one, tensed at the bar, ready to attack the man touching their boss. They didn't like Junior, but he paid them.

The bearded man twitched, trying to contain his anger. "_Fine._ When and where?"

Roman took a step back and pointed in his face. "Tomorrow, 9 PM, From Dust Till Dawn. Make sure they come early."

The feminine man smirked and left, twirling his cane casually.

Junior slumped at the bar after making the call. The bartender slid a glass of straight whiskey to the man and resumed cleaning a glass. The boss waved the two ladies off and drank deeply. The bartender watched as a young woman, no older than eighteen, sauntered into the bar with a confident gait. Her bright clothes definitely stood out.

She wore a pair of long brown boots, with the right having purple tied around the top and a hint of light orange stocking, or sock. A brown belt held up some sort of pouch and feathery half-skirt combo over a pair of tight black shorts. A brown jacket with yellow piping was worn open, showing a decent view of her cleavage along with a yellow top that had a black emblem that resembled a burning heart on the left breast.

The thing that stood out the most was the mane of messy bright gold hair that went down past her waist, with bangs that covered her forehead and hung near her light purple eyes.

She strode up to the bar and leaned on the counter, directing a charming smile at the bartender. "Strawberry Sunrise, with ice. Ooh, and a cute little umbrella!"

The man behind the counter chuckled and set down the clean glass. "Sure thing. Nice hair." He said with a small grin, directing attention to the yellow-blonde hair atop his head.

"Thanks, you too!" She returned, turning to look at Junior as he scowled at her.

"Aren't you a little young to be in a club?" He asked angrily.

"Aren't you a little old to be called 'Junior'?" The golden-haired woman shot back.

The bartender snickered and coughed as his boss shot an angry look at him. The man stepped away for the ice, keeping an eye on the two as the woman suddenly grabbed Junior's crotch and gripped painfully.

He came back and watched with thinly veiled amusement as his boss squealed like a girl. When the woman let go, Junior marched off, donning his red sunglasses in an attempt to keep up a macho façade.

The bartender heard the woman say, "Don't be mad, let's kiss and make up, okay?"

The blond man shook his head as his boss leaned in for a kiss. "So stupid." He muttered.

And the bartender was probably the only one not taken by surprise when the yellow-themed woman sucker-punched Junior through a glass pillar and into the bar instead of actually kissing him.

The blond man smiled and tipped a bottle on his boss's head.

The bartender watched as she tore up the club, kicking ass with a pair of yellow gauntlets that transformed from a pair of bracelets, which shot out Dust-powered blasts on impact. She could even use the blasts to increase her speed.

It actually resembled his fighting style, in a way.

After she finished kicking the ass of the goon squad, the DJ pulled out an assault rifle and fired on her; the yellow woman dodged the shots and used a pair of blasts from her gauntlets to shoot herself at the man, and proceeded to kick his ass, finishing by slamming his teddy-bear-head hat into the turntables, then hefting him onto her shoulders and shooting him off, where he landed on the empty dance floor, quite unconscious.

"Nice!" The bartender cheered, holding up a scorecard that had a ten on it. The woman winked at him, then looked down as two more opponents made their appearance.

The two bodyguards, the girls in white and red, Melanie and Miltia, respectively, stepped onto the dance floor with weapons ready.

The red twin used a pair of red and black claws attached to her hands, while her twin in white used a pair of white heels with blades along the back.

The two sisters traded banter with one another and attacked as the woman in brown and yellow reloaded her gauntlets and began to rain blasts down on them.

The blond bartender observed as they fought. Melanie and Miltia worked very well together, being twins and all, and they seemed to give their opponent some measure of trouble.

After Miltia landed a kick that sent the yellow woman back, she spun back to her feet and dashed at the pair, firing a blast from her gauntlets to speed her up.

For a second, her hair glowed, and the man nodded in appreciation. "Aura."

After the brown-wearing girl separated the twins, she took down Miltia with very little trouble, sending the red twin flying through a glass pillar.

The bartender jumped a little as Junior pulled himself to his feet and reached behind the bar to grab his rocket-launcher/bat combo weapon, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

And after that, Melanie was also taken down with rather easily, the golden-haired woman dancing away from her rapid kicks, waiting for an opening; which she then slammed an elbow into the white twins stomach then spun her around her body and landed a brutal Aura-enhanced guillotine kick right Melanie's face.

"Brutality!" He cheered like a fan at a sport's arena.

Junior stepped up and fired a barrage of rockets at the woman, who dodged the explosions and shot a few rockets out of the air with well-aimed blasts from her gauntlets, creating a thick smoke the boss took advantage of by switching the weapon into a bat and charging in.

He actually landed a few hits on her smacked her into some glass stairs.

When the yellow woman stood back up, her Aura flared, making her hair seem to be lit on fire. She dodged the following rockets and launched a barrage of punches, ending on a right cross that threw Junior back and broke his bat in half, though the bearded man also managed to yank out a lock of her hair in the process. Her eyes went wide before narrowing in rage as her Aura flared and shattered all the glass in the club.

She charged at Junior with a scream of anger and landed one hell of a hook that blasted the man out of a window and onto the street.

The woman jumped out after him as the bartender looked above the counter, taking in the destroyed club. "Well, shit."

He hopped over the counter and marched out of the door, coming on the yellow woman talking to a shorter girl wearing a black coat with a red cloak as Junior lay unconscious on the ground.

"It's a long story," He heard her say to the younger girl as he strode right up to her and pointed at the smoking Club.

"Lady, you just wrecked that club and all the people inside, broke, like, all the glass in the place and kicked my boss' ass!" He yelled at her.

She smirked and put her hands on her hips confidently. "Oh yeah? Whatcha gonna do about it?"

The bartender dropped the pointing hand and smiled. "Not a damn thing, that was fucking awesome." He lightly poked the unconscious Junior. "Though, I am going to need a new job."

She smiled and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Sorry about that. It kinda got out of hand, yeah?"

The bartender shrugged. "Eh, it's cool. I was going to quit anyway, he's a shitty boss."

The yellow woman held up a hand and 'surreptitiously' pointed at the younger girl. "Watch the cursing, she's a kid." She stage-whispered.

"Oh, sorry." He waved to the younger girl, who was glaring at the older girl for the 'kid' comment. "By the way, I never got you your drink, so here."

He held out a glass, probably the last remaining one from The Club, with a drink that had a red bottom that faded into orange. "One Strawberry Sunrise." The blond pulled something from his pocket and added it the top of the drink. "With an umbrella."

The woman cheered and took the drink. "Thanks, guy…?"

He grinned and took a short bow. "Naruto. And you are?" He asked, holding out a hand.

She shook his hand and answered, "I'm Yang! And this is my little sister, Ruby!"

"Nice to meet you." He waved to Ruby and kissed the gloved knuckles of her sister. "I'd like to fight you sometime."

Yang grinned challengingly. "Oh, really? You think you could handle this?"

Naruto grinned back. "I don't know. _But I'd love to find out._" He finished in a flirting tone, visibly winking behind the black sunglasses covering his eyes.

He stepped away and pulled a ring of keys out of his pocket and pointed them at a dark red motorcycle, disabling the alarm. Naruto straddled the motorcycle and made a 'call-me' gesture to Yang, than turned on the bike and did a quick donut before flying down the street like a bat out of hell.

"Naruto, huh?" Yang said to herself. "He seems like fun."

…

…

The next day, the former bartender named Naruto walked down the street, cracking his neck and stretching his arms.

Compared to most people, what he wore would be considered normal, what with the Hunters and Huntresses running around in whatever they could buy.

He wore a vest, like one you'd see under a suit, with a blue back and a burnt orange tie over a white button-up shirt. The sleeves of the shirt were rolled up all the way passed his elbows, and a pair of leather gloves covered his hands. They were fingerless with each knuckle colored differently, and stretched from his fingers to mid-way up his forearm with small metal plates going up the top.

He also wore black suit pants and shoes that would be at home on a tap-dancers feet, with longer heels. They served to make him taller, making his 6' seem to be 6'2".

It was late, around nine o'clock, and he was headed for a Dust shop, one that was actually open at that time of night, to buy some more Dust crystals for his depleted stash.

Naruto strode into the shop, unaware of the fact that it was being robbed. He stopped at the counter and waved to the shopkeeper. "Hey, I need…" He trailed off as he realized that Roman Torchwick was staring at him in a mix of confusion and disbelief. "Oh. Well, never mind then."

The orange-haired man pointed his cane at Naruto. "You're the bartender at Junior's little club."

Naruto shrugged. "Not anymore. That place got messed up, and it'll probably be closed for a couple weeks; so I quit."

"Oh." Roman blinked and motioned for the cashier to keep loading Dust crystals into a padded case. "Shame, that."

"Yeah."

"Found any job prospects yet?" The crime lord asked.

Naruto shook his head and sighed. "Nope."

Their pleasant conversation was broken as one of Junior's goons went slammed into a rack of magazines. Roman calmly motioned for another goon to take care of the problem, who ran off, the sound of a gun cocking echoing in the store.

He went flying through the window, dive-tackled by a girl with a long red cape.

The other goons stared out of the window, joined by Roman as the girl stood, a pole in her hands unfolding into a wicked red and black scythe with gleaming silver blade.

Naruto took the chance to snag a few of the crystals in Roman's case for himself, tossing the old shopkeeper their worth Lien and few extra for the damages.

He stepped through the door as a goon came flying into the shop through the broken window, catching the girl he recognized as Ruby from the previous night spinning and smacking another goon into the air with the blunt end of her scythe.

She came out of her spin and slammed the blunt part down on another guy and cocked a lever before dashing around the street, avoiding the bullets fired from the last conscious burglar. She kicked him into the air, stabbed the tip of her blade into the ground and used the length of the pole and her momentum to fling herself into the air, where Ruby batted him back down to the ground in front of Roman.

"You were worth every cent, truly you were." He commented to himself in irritation.

"What did you expect?" Naruto asked rhetorically. "You paid eight hundred Lien."

The criminal acquiesced to the fact. "True." He stepped forward and pulled the cigar from his mouth and stamped it out with the end of his cane. "Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening. And as much as I'd love to stick around," He pointed the end of the cane at Ruby, and a reticule popped up from the end, revealing a barrel. "I'm afraid this, is where we part ways."

He fired a blast that whistled shrilly at Ruby, who leapt into the air to avoid it.

The man turned to Naruto and tipped his hat, grabbing a case full of Dust Crystals and running off.

Ruby came down from her jump and looked around, only seeing Naruto. Naruto pointed at the building behind her, at Roman as the man rapidly scaled a ladder.

The shopkeeper came out of his store, and Ruby glanced at him. "You okay if I go after him?"

He nodded, and the young girl dashed off, firing a round into the pavement to launch herself onto the roof.

Naruto waved to the old man and followed, jumping and firing the guns in the heels of his shoes to boost him up. He flipped over the lip of the building as a Bullhead airship came up over the other side.

Roman jumped into an opening side door, turning around and pulling a red Dust Crystal from the case. "End of line, Red!" He shouted over the engines, chucking the crystal at Ruby's feet and taking aim.

Naruto swore to himself and sprinted across the distance just as Roman fired a shot, detonating the crystal just as the blond managed to wrap his arms around Ruby and turn his back to the explosion.

Instead of searing heat, Naruto only felt a brief flash as he heard Roman cheer. He let go of Ruby and turned to see a woman in a long black skirt with light blonde hair tied into a bun with a black cape and a purple inside standing in front of them, a shield of spinning purple runes having guarded them from the blast.

The woman scoffed and waved what looked to be a riding crop, releasing several tendrils of purple energy at the ship and making it swerve. Roman retreated from the hatch and the ship tried to bolt, only for the blonde woman to shoot another tendril into the sky over the Bullhead, with a swipe of her crop creating a rain of sharp ice that pelted the ship.

A woman in a red dress stepped out into the hatch, only her long pale legs and the bottom of a red dress visible, with the exception of her glowing orange eyes. Fiery runes lit up her arms as she fired a blast of fire at the blonde woman, who defended herself with a smaller purple shield, the embers scattering around her.

The woman in red lifted her hand up and the roof lit up underneath their feet. Naruto dodged to the side as did Ruby while the woman cart-wheeled back. The roof exploded, but the blond woman waved her riding crop, stopping the debris from scattering, then gathered them into a long spear, which she hurled at the ship with a flick of her hand.

The woman in red fired a flurry of shots, briefly scattering the rocky debris before they reformed into a spear and were thrown at the cockpit. The pilot managed to tilt the ship so that the spear deflected off the top.

The blonde woman hummed and sharply swung her riding crop, turning the scattered debris into three sharp arrows ready to pierce the ship.

The woman in red stumbled at the sudden movements of the Bullhead, and, realizing the danger the debris presented, was briefly lit up by several rings made up of fiery runes, before she released a wave of fire that incinerated the wreckage.

Ruby finally got over her awe at seeing two high-level opponents duke it out and collapsed her scythe into a sniper, unloading several rounds at the woman in the Bullhead.

Naruto shrugged and clenched his fists, the blue knuckle lighting up on both gloves as punched the air, shooting balls of ice at the ship.

The woman with the fiery runes blocked each shot effortlessly and swiped a hand in front of her body, melting the ice and creating several blazing circles around the trio's feet.

The blonde woman telekinetically shoved Ruby away from the blast site and turned to do the same to Naruto, but he had already back-flipped away. She jumped back as the ground exploded in fountains of fire, looking up once the smoke faded to see the hatch close and the Bullhead flying away.

She sighed shortly and glanced at Ruby, who was looking up at her with an awe-struck face. "You're a Huntress!" The young girl said with hero-worship in her voice. "Can I have your autograph?"

…

And that was how Naruto and Ruby ended up in a window-less concrete room in the local VPD building.

The blond male had his legs kicked up on the table and was shuffling a deck of cards that had brown backs with silver lining. Ruby, on the other hand was cradling her head in her hands, mumbling to herself about being arrested and going to jail forever, working herself up into a right tizzy.

Naruto reached out and tapped the panicking girl on the shoulder. "Hey, relax. It was just a mild case vigilantism, and you were threatened first, so if they do decide to charge you, which I really doubt they will, it won't stick."

She sighed, before pointing a finger in his face. "Hey, you just sat there and watched! Why didn't you help me?"

He sighed and shrugged, shuffling the cards in his hands. "With what, the four goons you beat down in seconds? Please, I would just gotten in the way." He tilted his sunglasses up and winked at her with one bright blue eye. "I won't lie, I was also admiring your skills. You're very powerful for someone who hasn't even graduated from a starter academy."

Ruby blushed a little and smiled shyly. "Thanks." An interested look crossed her face before she leaned in close and looked at the gloves on his hands. "What are these? I saw you shoot Dust Ice at that fiery lady, are they like Yang's gauntlets?"

The blond man nodded. "Yeah, sort of. I call them 'Asura Fists'. Depending on how I make a fist, the Dust used is different, like this."

He held out his hands, palm down and fingers splayed, and curled one hand into fist, pinky first. "See, pinky is Ice, ring finger is Lightning, middle finger is Fire, fore finger is Force and thumb is Air." He opened and closed his hands several times, showing the younger girl the knuckles on his gloves lighting up in response. "And since I have two hands, I can combine the effects when I use both at the same time."

"Cool!" Ruby stated, grabbing one of his hands and closely examining the gloves.

Before Naruto could tease the girl on weapon focus, the door slammed open, showing them the blonde woman from before. Turns out that her name was Glynda Goodwitch, and she was a famous Huntress, apparently.

The former bartender had to admit, she had the whole 'sexy librarian/witch' thing down to pat, and the riding crop did not help, main weapon or not.

"I hope that you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, both of you." She emphasizes her point by pointing her crop at the two of them and pushing Naruto's shoes of the table. "You put yourself and others in great danger."

"They started it!" Ruby protested, looking ashamed at the scolding she was receiving.

Glynda stopped across the table from them. "If it was up to me, you'd be sent home with a pat on the back…" The red-hooded girl smiled while Naruto shrugged. Honestly, he had only started throwing Ice at the Bullhead because the others were doing so and he felt a little left out. "And a slap on the wrist!" The blonde woman finished, slapping her crop on the table, getting a squeak of fear from Ruby.

She narrowed her eyes on Naruto, who was looking relaxed despite the atmosphere. "And moreso of the latter for you."

He shrugged. "Yeah, I can see that."

Glynda sighed and adjusted her glasses. "But…there is someone here who would like to meet you."

She moved away from the door, showing the duo inside the room a man holding a mug and a plate of cookies. He had messy silver hair, narrow light brown eyes and pale skin. He wore a green scarf around his neck with a silver cross pinned to the center, a very dark green jacket and a vest with golden buttons and similar pants with a pair of small glasses resting on his nose.

"Ruby Rose…" The man begins, before leaning in with a strange look on his face. "You…have silver eyes." He comments, almost distantly.

Ruby tried to be subtle in leaning back from his intense gaze as Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "So! Where did you learn how to do this?" The man began again, gesturing to the scroll Glynda held in her hands, which was playing a video of Ruby fighting the thugs.

"S-Signal Academy?" She put out tentatively.

A confused look crossed the silver-haired man's face. "They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?"

"Well, one teacher in particular." Ruby said, gaining a little more confidence.

"I see," The man said, mostly to himself as he set the plate of cookies on the table.

Ruby reached out and snagged one hesitantly before shoving the whole thing in her mouth. When she realized that the man was lost in thought and didn't seem to care, she started shoveling cookies into her mouth rapidly. Naruto snorted a chuckle as her cheeks began to puff out from the volume with which she was consuming the treats.

"It's just that I've only seen one other scythe-wielder of that skill before." The man started, looking off to side in recollection. "A dusty old crow…"

Ruby perked up. "Oh, that my uncle!" She mumbled around a mouthful of baked goods, the last one in her hand. She blushed lightly and swallowed heavily, wiping her mouth with a now empty hand. "Sorry. That's my Uncle Qrow! He's a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing, and now I'm all like-hey!" She whined, looking at Naruto as he took a bite of the last cookie he swiped from her hand when she wasn't paying attention.

He grinned smugly at her and winked behind his sunglasses.

"So…I've noticed." The man says slowly, carefully watching the by-play between the two. "Anyway, what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?"

"Well," She said hesitantly, "I want to be a Huntress."

"You want to slay monsters?" The sliver-haired man asked.

"Yeah." Ruby started, her voice getting the most serious Naruto had heard so far. "I only have two more years of training left at Signal, and then I'm going to apply to Beacon!" Her voice picked up in speed. "You see, my sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a Huntress, and I'm trying to become a Huntress 'cause I wanna help people. My parents always taught us to help people, so I thought, 'Hey, I might as well make a career out of it!'"

She giggled sort of crazily. "I mean, the police are alright, but Huntsmen and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and cool and really, _gosh_, you know?" Ruby finishes her fit with a wide smile.

Naruto leaned back from her just a_ little bit_ while the man and Glynda traded looks. "Do you know who I am?" He asks, leaning forward and clasping his hands together.

Ruby's smile shrunk to a less-crazy level. "You're Professor Ozpin. You're the Headmaster at Beacon."

Ozpin gave her a small, amused smile. "Hello."

She nodded back. "Nice to meet you."

He set his hands on the table and looked her in the eyes. "You want to come to my school?" He asked seriously.

"More than anything." Ruby returned in longing tone of voice.

Ozpin looks up at Glynda questioningly. She hmph'ed and rolled her eyes, clearly disapproving. "Well, okay."

Ruby's eyes go wide and her smile grew. "Glynda here will give you directions to the ship that leads to my school. You are on the roster, Ruby Rose." He says, amused by the pole-axed expression on her face.

The blonde Huntress dragged the younger girl away, and is stopped when Ruby drags her heels and turns around. "Wait, what about…?" She trailed off, gesturing in Naruto's direction.

The blond man tilted his glasses down and gave her a kind smile. "Don't worry about me, Ruby. I'll see you later."

She nods hesitantly and is lead away by the Goodwitch while the door swings closed.

Ozpin turns his gaze onto the blond left in the room, folding his hands once more. "And what will we do with you?" He asks. "You are not someone I've heard of, yet, you show up in the middle of a robbery and have a pleasant chat with a well-known criminal, and then you fire on his ship with what seems to be pure Dust Manipulation. Who are you?"

Naruto pulled off his sunglasses and set them on the table. "I am Naruto." He announces without fanfare. "I am just a simple guy between jobs. I work for my pay, and those jobs usually involve fighting, which has developed my skills as a fighter. I can hold my own with my gloves that shoot various Dust powers."

Ozpin pulled out his scroll and opened it, showing Naruto firing blasts of ice at the Bullhead. "While your gloves help you shape the Dust, you still manipulate it by yourself. That shows skill, and a discipline rarely seen outside of veteran Hunters. Definitely not a 'simple guy'." He finishes with narrowed eyes.

Naruto leaned back and folded his arms behind his head. "What can I say? I know how to fight."

"Talent like yours should be developed, shaped and given direction." The headmaster says seriously, a hard gaze locked onto the blond's eyes. "Not used as a Bouncer for clubs."

The other man shrugged nonchalantly. "Eh, you can say that. I mean, what's to stop me from going out and knocking over a mom'n'pop shop with my Dust and my skills? It's not like I have a…_school_…to go to."

He looked at the Headmaster with a challenging gleam in his eyes. A corner of Ozpin's mouth lifts in a small smirk as he held his hand out to shake. "Welcome to Beacon Academy, Mr…"

Naruto leaned forward, grabbing his hand and shaking it. "Uzumaki. My name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Well. Welcome to Beacon Academy, Mr. Uzumaki."

…

A little less than a day later, Naruto strode aboard a high-class airship wearing a dark blue trench coat with a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder and headphones secured on his ears.

He yawned as he passed by multitudes of people, finding a seat in one of the more quiet areas on a bench, next to a slender girl wearing mostly white. "Hey, is this seat taken?" He asked tiredly, and then didn't even wait for her answer before plopping down within three feet of her space. "Cool, thanks."

Naruto set his bag on the ground and propped his feet up on the other bench, leaning his head back and pulling his deck of cards from a leather holster on his belt.

A pair yellow eyes peek over the top of a book as the girl in white fusses up a storm at the unresponsive Naruto, gain a disinterested look and goes back to the book.

Sitting at one of the tables is an odd pair; one is a girl wearing a collared and armored black vest that ends at her waist with a sleeveless white shirt underneath that has a small heart cut out between her cleavage and her collarbone, along with a pink skirt, pink fingerless gloves and white boots with pink insides and pink laces. She had short orange hair and bright turquoise eyes. She seemed to be chewing something if the puffed cheeks and rapid movement of her jaw was anything to go by. It also could've been the rapid bouncing she was doing in her seat.

The guy sitting across from her was nearly the opposite. He had long black hair tied into a ponytail that ends midway down his back with a single streak of magenta that matched his eyes; and wore a dark-green, diagonally-buttoned, long-sleeved tailcoat with black and gold trimming and pink cuffs.

He sat calmly with his eyes closed and his hands folded inside of his sleeves, ignoring the waving girl in front of him. She huffed silently, and decided to start flicking peanuts at the quietly card-spinning Naruto.

The blond didn't even look as the cards danced in his hands. The white-haired girl huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Is that supposed to impress me?" She asked snarkily.

When he didn't answer and a peanut bounced off of the side of his head, she started to fume. She reached over and poked him on the arm. Getting no response again, she started poking him harder.

After a minute, the black-haired boy sighed. "He's probably trying to sleep." He stated, opening his eyes to glance at the girl in white.

"No one asked you!" She shot back.

The girl giggled around the food in her mouth and flicked another peanut at Naruto's head. He stiffened and suddenly flicked a card.

The card flashed through the cabin, through the peanut and impaled the wall next to the girl's head. The other occupants froze and looked from the card stabbed into the wall at the still silent Naruto as the two halves of the peanut hit the floor.

He flicked a finger and the card came sailing back to be shuffled with the others once more.

The girl in white narrowed her eyes on him and reached over, slowly pulling off his sunglasses to reveal his tightly closed eyes. "He's asleep!" She announced, mostly to herself. The girl pulled off his earphones and sucked in a breath. "Wake u-!"

Naruto jumped at the sudden sound, the handful of cards in his right hand flying up and stabbing into the ceiling. He turned wide eyes on the white girl. "What?!" He yelled in surprise, subconsciously pulling the cards back to his hand with a twitch of his fingers.

"Are you going to move?!" She shouted at him angrily.

He blinked twice before shaking his head. "No, I'm good here." He put his headphones back on along with his sunglasses and leaned back again.

The white-haired girl growled and sat in her seat, arms tightly wrapped around herself like a straight-jacket.

A few minutes later, Naruto cursed and pulled his head back up. "Dammit, now I can't sleep." He reached down and pulled a red guitar with a white V on the body out of his duffel bag, along with a small amp, neither of which should've fit inside the bag.

He hooked up the guitar to the amp and tested the chords, nodding when they didn't need to be tuned. He tried to jack his headphones in but didn't notice that he missed and started strumming with his feet tapping on the floor.

It started out with a low beat and an eerie backing with the drumming of his feet, then moved into a higher cord. "I…Have wondered 'bout you…Where will you be…when this is through?" Naruto sang lowly. He was singing under his breath, but it was easily audible in the silence of the cabin. "If all…If all goes as planned…Will you redeem…My life again…My life again…"

He started playing louder and harder, tapping his heels in a heavier beat. "Fire the fields, the wind is sown…Water down you empty soul…Wake the sea of silent hope…Water down you empty soul…"

Naruto's finger flowed over the neck as the melodious sound filled the cabin. The beat picked up as he sang lowly. "Fight your foes, You're not alone…Holy war is on the phone…Asking to please stay on hold…Bleeding loss of blood runs cold..."

He started bopping his head in rhythm. "And I need you to recover…Because I can't make it on my own…And I need you to recover…Because I can't make it on my own…"

A low hum backed the main chords as he strummed away. His soft voice filled the room and drew attention from a few passer-bys. He played for another five minutes, singing quietly, the almost mournful tone oddly going along with the high-energy chords.

Once he finished, the final chords echoing, Naruto sighed and leaned back, resting his head on the back of the bench, and started snoring quietly.

…

When the ship finally landed at Beacon Academy, Naruto was one of the first ones out the door, thought he stepped out of the way, next to a garbage can, to let loose a jaw-cracking yawn that lasted a full minute.

Once he came out of the after-yawn stupor, Naruto looked down the stone pat to see that most everyone had already started towards the Academy.

A sudden explosion pulled his attention to two figures, both girls. One, in white, was his bench-buddy, and was also yelling at the slumped figure of Ruby. He began to walk towards them as they were joined by another girl, this one wearing predominantly black and white, with a rather large bow on her head.

After trading a few words he couldn't hear, the girl in white stomped off, and the girl in black slunk away soon after, leaving Ruby to slide to her knees by herself.

Naruto strode up to her. "Hey Ruby, fancy seeing you here." He quipped, holding a hand out for her to take.

Ruby grabbed his hand with a grateful smile and let him her to her feet. "Thanks. It's good to see a…friendly…face?" She turned it into a question at the end.

He chuckled and grinned at her. "Sure, I'll be your friend Ruby. I don't have any issues with that. Do you?"

Ruby shook her head and a wide smile broke out on her face. "I don't! But, uh, how did you get here? Are you a visitor or something?"

"No," Naruto replied, "I'm a student. I convinced Ozpin to enroll me and here I am! Ready to stride forth and acquire knowledge and skills!" He announced grandly, sweeping an arm in front of him, taking the in whole of Beacon.

The red-hooded girl giggled. "Well, let's learn together, okay?" She sticks out a hand, the other rubbing at the back of her neck sheepishly. "I know Yang told you my name, but I never introduced myself. I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose."

Naruto took her hand and kissed the back like gentleman. "Well, Ruby Rose, I am Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki, at your service." He tilted his head at the school. "Shall we walk?"

Ruby repressed her blush and smiled. "Sure!"

They walked around the grounds, chatting. Eventually it turned to weapons. "I'm mean, they're just so cool! And there are so many different weapons here, it's like, amazing!" She said excitedly. "It's really cool, I can't wait to see what they do!"

Naruto chuckled at her enthusiasm. "You really like weapons, huh? I meant to ask earlier, but, where did you get your scythe? I don't think I've seen anything like it in the shops I've been in."

Ruby pulled the rectangular block off of her back, and it unfolded into her large scythe. "This is Crescent Rose, and I built her!" The blade collapsed and a barrel with a scope formed on the other end. "It's also a high-impact sniper rifle."

"Nice." He said with an appreciative nod. "It's a very powerful weapon."

She blushed and looked away in embarrassment. "Well…I may have gone overboard when I designed it…"

Naruto shrugged and waved a hand. "Nah, I think it fits. I showed you my Asura Gloves, but I didn't show you these."

He pulled the legs of his pants up to show her the boots on his feet. They were black leather and extended half-way up his shin, like a mixture of cowboy boots and tap shoes. "They're called 'Staccato Blitz'. The heels are pistols and the palm shoots blasts of Dust. Watch!"

He stepped off of the concrete and onto the grass before performing a few tap steps that were followed by sharp retorts of guns firing, and left behind scorched grass. He finished off by kicking his foot at a nearby tree. A bullet shot out of his heel and ripped a chunk out of the bark. "They're not as impressive as your Crescent Rose, but they work for me."

Ruby folded her scythe up and gave him a smile. "I think they're interesting."

He winked at her with a small grin. "Thanks."

A short silence fell before she asked, "Do you know where we are?"

Naruto shrugged. "Nope. I thought you knew where were supposed to go."

Ruby blanched. "Uh, no, I don't."

He shrugged again. "Maybe we can find a directory, or a landmark or something."

…

After several more minutes of searching, they finally came across the Main Hall. "Oh, hey! I gotta go, see you after the ceremony!" Ruby said, running to a waving Yang.

Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "Okay."

He turned and strode through the crowd, eventually just stopping somewhere random, which also happened to be within earshot of Ruby, Yang, and the girl in white.

"-I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I exploded! And then she yelled again, and I felt really, really bad and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!" Ruby rapidly explained to her sister, sounding near tears at the end.

"You!" The white girl yelled from behind the red-hooded girl.

Ruby jumped into her sister's arms in a panic. "Oh god, it's happening again!" She lamented.

"You're lucky we didn't get blown off the side of the cliff!" The white girl barked angrily.

Yang looked at her sister, mouth agape in shock. "Oh, my god, you really exploded." She said in shock.

"It was an accident!" Ruby told her sister before jumping out of her arms and facing the white girl. "It was accident!"

Said white girl shoved a pamphlet in her face. "What's this?" She asked in confusion.

The girl began to list off what sounded like disclaimer; to Naruto, it really just sounded like gibberish. And judging by the look on Ruby's face, that's what it sounded like to her as well. "Uh…?"

"You really want to start making things up to me?" The white girl asked, "Then read this and don't ever speak to me again."

"Look, uh," Yang started, scratching the back of her head. "It sounds like you two just…got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?"

"Yeah, great idea sis!" Ruby said excitedly, before clearing her throat and holding her hand out to the other girl. "Hello, Weiss, I'm Ruby. Do you want to hang out? We could go shopping for school supplies?"

Weiss, as that was the white girl's name, waved her arms sarcastically. "Yeah, and we could paint our nails, and try on clothes and talk about cute boys, like tall, dark and sleepy over there." She said, jacking her thumb over her shoulder at Naruto.

"Hey," Naruto replied, glowering under his glasses. "I may be sleepy, _just today_," He lifted up his sunglasses and directed a glare at Weiss, "But at least I don't have an icicle shoved somewhere obviously uncomfortable."

The girl in white glared at him while Ruby tried to smother a nervous giggle and Yang openly chuckled. She turned back to the scythe-wielder and stomped her foot. "I was kidding!"

She crossed her arms and turned away with a huff. Naruto winked at the two sisters as a microphone was tapped.

"Ahem. I'll…keep this brief." Ozpin started. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan dedicate your life to the protection of the people."

His light brown eyes scanned over the crowd, seemingly boring into the mind of every gaze he met. "But, I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this…but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far."

He adjusted his cane. "It is up to you to take the first step." Ozpin left without another word, a cane in his hand.

Glynda took up the microphone. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

Naruto thought to himself as he walked up to the familiar faces. _It's like he was distracted…like he wasn't all here. Odd._

"I'm not sleepy all the time, you know." Naruto said to Weiss, yawning.

…

Hours later, when night had fallen and the sleeping bags that would serve as their beds for the night were rolled out, Naruto found himself in a conundrum.

"Whatcha thinking 'bout?" Yang asked teasingly.

"Well, I usually sleep in my underwear." He told her without shame. "But I don't think anyone here would appreciate that."

The blonde obviously scanned his body. His shirt was unbuttoned, showing his abs and an odd tattoo that disappeared underneath his belt. "Are you sure about that?"

He grinned at her and shucked his shirt off. "You're right, everyone here is an adult, who cares?" Naruto hopped out of his boots and pulled his pants down, hanging them up in the locker he had laid claim to, leaving the man in his crimson silk boxers.

"Ooh, crimson!" Yang said teasingly, closing her locker and showing the orange tank top and shorts she wore as pajamas. "How racy! Are they red because you like my sister?"

Even out of his boots, Naruto was still taller than Yang, and heavily muscled despite the slim appearance his clothes granted him. Seeing her gaze, he jokingly posed with his arms curled. "Oh yeah, ladies, make a line. I have enough ab for everyone." He said in a deep, accented voice, flexing his abdominals. "I'll have you know that I've always like red, even before I met your sister."

Out of sight of both of them, a woman with waist-length red hair looked around her locker with interest in her bright green eyes.

The two blondes exited the locker room into the ballroom. Naruto stopped when noticed the stares he was getting. Not only for the amount of skin he was showing, but also the scars decorating his body. "Yes," He said imperiously, "Be in awe of me and my muscles. Hwa." And flexed again.

Yang giggled and flopped down next to her sister, who was writing on a piece of paper. "It's like a big slumber party!" She announced, leaning on a hand.

Ruby glanced at her sister and went back to writing. "I don't think dad would approve of the boys, though."

"I know **I** do!" Yang said, looking over the shirtless forms of several boys.

The sound of a camera shuttering drew their attention to the spot behind Yang. Naruto was lying on his sleep bag, one hand propping up his head and the other on his hip with a leg bent. Several girls were around him taking turns posing with him as the others took pictures.

The sisters traded looks as the last one took a rather risqué pose in a black silk nightie. She had their chests pressed together with her hands around his back, looking over her shoulder at the cameras with a lascivious look on her face.

After the picture was snapped, she stumbled to her feet with a heavy blush. "W-when I get a physical picture, w-will, I mean, c-could you a-a-autograph it?" The girl managed to stutter out.

"Sure!" Naruto said, winking at the girls. "Bring them to me and I'll sign 'em."

The group of girls tittered and walked off, giggling and whispering to each other. The blond sighed in relief and rolled over, finding two questioning looks directed his way. "What?"

"'What?'" Yang said incredulously. "What do you mean, 'What?'? They were treating you like a celebrity!"

Naruto shrugged. "Eh, I'm just eye-catching, I guess."

The blonde shook her head and turned back to her sister. "So, what are you doing?"

Ruby scratched out another sentence. "Oh, just writing a letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going."

"Aww," Yang cooed teasingly, "That's so Cute~!"

Ruby twisted and threw her pillow at her sisters' face. "Shut up!" She whined, "I didn't get to take my friends with me to school!" She looked down at her journal. "It's weird not knowing anyone here."

Naruto peeked out from behind Yang's head. "What am I, chopped liver?"

Ruby blushed and looked away sheepishly. "Sorry. It's just…I know two people, and one is my sister…it's not what I expected my first day to be like."

"Well, you have muscles over here. That's plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase!" Yang said encouragingly.

The younger sister slumped on her pillow. "I'm pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero…"

The blonde sister scoffed. "Oh please, there's no such thing as 'negative' friends! You just made one friend and one enemy!"

Ruby's second pillow slapped her in the face. Once it slid of, Yang spoke again. "Look, it's only been one day. Trust me; you've got friends all around you! You just haven't met them yet!"

"Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." Naruto commented, lying on his back with his hands behind his head.

The two sisters are drawn to a candelabra being lit by a girl with black hair tied up with a big black bow, in grey sleeping clothes.

"That girl…" Ruby muttered to herself.

Yang, picking up on her sister's look, also glanced at the girl reading her book. "You know her?"

The younger sister sighed and shook her head. "Not really. She saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything."

The blonde sister perked up and pulled her sister to her feet. "Well, now's your chance!" And dragged her sister off to try and make a friend.

Naruto shook his head and pulled on his left glove. He always hid his gloves under his pillow, just in case someone tried something at night. He tapped on a metal plate and a screen popped up, showing a news report.

"_The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you, Lisa."_

The mugshot of Roman changed to a woman with white hair and yellow eyes wearing a purple shirt under a black suit jacket. Next to her head was picture of animal-eared people with signs reading, _"WE ARE NOT ANIMALS!"_

"_Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has become a violent militia, disrupting Human and Faunus events, causing large amounts of damage."_

The photo changed to a red Beowolf head with three scratch marks behind it, circled by red on a white background.

"_However, the mysterious vigilante know as the 'Shadow Grimm' has appeared once more, defending innocent lives and knocking several attacking White Fang members unconscious. Amateur footage, taken by one of the protestor's scroll, has been submitted. This video is violent, and viewer discretion is advised."_

The newscast was replaced by a shaky video. Shots were fired into the air as various Faunus, all wearing white armor and white Grimm masks that left only the mouth uncovered, shoved and shouted at the protesters. Suddenly, what seemed to be a cloud of black smoke engulfed one of the White Fang, and he disappeared, only to reappear above two others, crashing into them and falling to the ground in a pile.

The other White Fang members began to panic, weapons shaking in their hands as they pointed them all around. A group of five stood above the person shooting the video, who, from the angle, was lying on the ground.

A cloud of black exploded in front of the member in the middle, a boot striking his face, knocking the white mask off and knocking him unconscious.

The others turned and fired as the cloud vanished, leaving behind a haze of gray smoke.

The shadowy figure appeared behind a Faunus farthest to the left, kneeing him in the back, spinning him around and slapping the gun out of his hand. The figure followed up by slamming the White Fang troop in the stomach with his knee and chopping the back of his neck.

The figure vanished and appeared behind another Faunus and punched her in the back of her head, sending her sprawling to the ground unconscious.

The last soldier started firing wildly, nearly hitting several protestors. The black cloud came back, joined by a flash of silver that cut the gun in half. The sound of metal striking bone sounded out as the figure smacked the soldier across the face with the flat of a silver ninjato.

The soldier stumbled back, clutching their face in pain, but froze when they felt sharpened steel nicking their neck.

The figure without the black cloud around its' body was revealed to be either male or a heavily armored female. It was holding a silver ninjato to the troopers' neck while pulling out another from somewhere on its' body.

Using the other blade, it took the tip and stabbed into the soldier's chest and drew the blade down, creating a diagonal line over his heart.

The protestor taking the film was close enough to hear a short exchange between the two parties.

"_**This…is a warning. This is your second chance…your **_**only**_** second chance…"**_ The figure said in a deep voice that was obviously modified to by deeper and electronic sounding. _**"Leave the White Fang. If I find you doing this again…if you…**_**cross…**_**me again…I'll cross you again. And then you'll die."**_

The figure drew his blades back and struck the soldier on the back of his neck with the blunt side of one of his ninjato.

The Faunus crumpled to the ground, and the figure moved to the other unconscious figures and cut them over the heart as well.

As if suddenly aware of it being filmed, the figure spun around, and the picture froze on the mask.

It was shaped similar to the Grimm Masks that the White Fang wore with a smaller piece that covered the mouth and chin. It was black with white slits and white smoke-like designs traveling up the mask.

"_The vigilante known as the Shadow Grimm is wanted for questioning. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call your local police department. I am Lisa Lavender, and this has been Vale News at 11."_

Naruto closed the scroll and sighed. _And next morning, I'll be on the news. Great. I'd hoped I could spend more than a day here without being recognized, but I didn't even make it through the night._

He looked over as Ruby and Yang came back and shuffled into their sleeping bags, looking rather mussed up.

Naruto got in his own sleeping bag and zipped it up. "I hope you guys don't mind if I sing. I can't really sleep without music. I'll quiet, don't worry."

Yang quirked an eyebrow at him and nodded. "Sure I don't mind."

He laid back and stared up at the ceiling, humming to himself.

"_Take a photograph; It'll be the last…_

_Not a dollar or a crowd could ever keep me here._

_I don't have a past, I just have a chance._

_Not a family or honest plea remains to say:_

_Rain, rain, go away; come again another day,_

_All the world is waiting for the sun…_

_Is it you I want; _

_Or just the notion of a heart to wrap around so I can find my way around?_

_Safe to say from here;_

_You're getting closer now._

_We are never sad 'cause we are not allowed to be._

_Rain, rain, go away; come again another day._

_All the world is waiting for the sun…_

_Rain, rain, go away; come again another day._

_All the world is waiting for the sun._

_To lie here, under you, is all that I could ever do,_

_To lie here, under you, is all that I could ever do,_

_To lie here, under you, is all…_

_To lie here, under you, is all that I could ever do,_

_To lie here, under you, is all…_

_Rain, rain, go away; come again another day._

_All the world is waiting for the sun…_

_Rain, rain, go away; come again another day._

_All the world is waiting for the sun…_

_All the world is waiting for the sun…_

_All the world is waiting for the…sun…_

…

…

**A/N: Sooo, yeah.**

**First things first; this is not a song-fic. These are just songs I really like, and they'll be happening at other times in the story as well. Not a bunch though, just where it fits.**

**Alright, I feel I should point this out, cause some people just don't understand some things: Naruto is replacing Jaune. Not because I don't like Jaune, in fact the only ting I dislike about him his is voice and that's it.**

**No, Naruto replaces Jaune because it's easier for me. That's all. **

**No Naruto-verse elements will appear besides a few mentions and the Rasengan in a Dust form, and that is it. In fact, you could say that Naruto is an OC in RWBY with Naruto's name, though his dream is similar.**

**A RWBY crossover will get more attention, however.**

**Songs:**

**M4 Part II, By Faunts.**

**Rain, Acoustic Version, By Breaking Benjamin.**

**And that's all I got for you today, folks. The next chapter of JotWE is almost done, and the next chapter of Hero is just starting.**

**I've been on an RWBY kick recently and this idea wouldn't leave me alone. It will follow canon with a few changes for a while and then diverge.**

**Find me at Soleneus . blogspot . com!**

**Stay Awesome!**

**~Soleneus**

**P.S.: My computer is starting to crap out on me. Considering that it's from 2003, it's a freaking miracle that it still works.**

**Stay Awesome Some More and Review!**

**~still Soleneus**


	2. Initiation, The Makings of a Team or Two

Soft chords of an acoustic guitar echoed around the courtyard. Naruto sat on a bench overlooking the cliff that faced the sunrise, wearing only his pants as fingers of sunlight peeked over the horizon and began to spread across the sky. His song picked up speed but remained melodious and soft as he stared at the horizon, quickly striking the strings, using four fingers to play; making the song sound like it came from more than one guitar.

Naruto suddenly jumped from the bench and spun, hurling a razor-edged throwing card at the person he sensed sneaking up behind him.

Ozpin caught the card easily, using the space between the fingers he was holding a mug in to stop it. He quirked an eyebrow at the blond man. "Is this how you greet everyone in the morning?" He asked evenly, flicking the card back.

Naruto grabbed the card and put it back in his holster. "No, just people who sneak up on me." He sat back down and set his guitar aside. "What's going on?"

The headmaster sat next to him and held out one of the mugs bearing the Beacon Academy crest for Naruto to take. "You be a Hunter as long as I have and you'll find that early mornings become a habit. And yourself?" He replied as Naruto took the cup and sipped.

Naruto blinked in surprise. "This is tea." He said, almost as a question.

Ozpin nodded, sipping his own tea. "Of course. Atlas Morning Black Tea. I find it rather bracing for long days."

The blond shrugged and drank again. "I thought it would be coffee." He commented.

The Headmaster snorted lightly. "As if. You haven't met Bart yet, but suffice to say, he put me off coffee for life."

"It's good." Naruto said.

"Indeed."

A calm silence fell as the two watched the sun itself peep over the edge. "I wake up early sometimes." The blond finally stated. "A song fills my dreams, and it wakes me up. I have to get it out or it just drives me crazy all day.'

Ozpin nodded and sipped his tea.

The two sat on the bench as the sun finally rose and the day began. "Thanks for the tea." Naruto said, standing and grabbing his guitar. "I enjoyed this."

The Headmaster nodded. "Anytime."

The blond man retreated back to the ballroom and began to dress for the day. Looking in the kitchens, he saw no one else awake and shrugged. "Bacon Pancakes it is."

About an hour later, a few other students stumbled into the kitchen drawn by the sound of singing and the smell of both bacon and pancakes.

"Say what you want, but you're not getting through to me; [can you take it, can you take it?] Pray if you want, but you get a piece of me; [can you save this, can you save this?] Don't keep saying I'm afraid of a new day! [Don't you hate that? Really hate that!] So stay if you want, but we'll burn you an effigy! [Separate us, separate us!]"

Naruto flipped a pancake and did spin, catching the breakfast cake on a plate easily and singing again. "'Cause I've been, waiting for something beautiful, [can serve it up for me?]" He slid the plate down the counter to sit with a bunch of others, all stacked high with pancakes.

"But I've been thinking something's wrong with me! [Can you clear it up for me?]" He poured out some batter and dropped two pieces of crispy bacon on it and covered it with rest.

"And I've been, hoping for something meaningful. [Can you serve it up for me?]" Naruto flicked it into the air and caught in the pan and set it back down to cook. "Yeah, I've been, looking for something, to keep me coming back for more!"

The blond became aware of the other people in the kitchen staring at him, jumping in surprise and flinging the last pancake into the air. He panicked and managed to catch it on a plate, setting it next to the twenty other plates. "Uh, hey." Naruto muttered in embarrassment, scratching the back of his head. He caught sight of the other plates stacked high with Bacon Pancakes and gaped. "Whoa. I did _not_ mean to make that many pancakes. I probably used all the flour."

He glanced at the others. A few stared, but more looked to the stacks of fluffy pancakes in hunger. Naruto shrugged. "Breakfast is served, I guess."

He grabbed a plate and laid four pancakes on it and moved into the dining area to eat.

Others followed and bacon pancakes were enjoyed by all, except for the vegetarians, but there were regular pancakes for those sad, sad souls.

Later, Naruto strapped on his left boot and made sure it was tight and did the same with right. Finding it to be satisfactory, he shut the locker and moseyed past Ruby and Yang, waving as he did.

"-I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may." A girl with long red-hair replied to a question put forth by Weiss.

Naruto stopped by them. "Somebody say chips? As in, poker chips?"

The red-haired girl turns to him. "Uhm, yeah…it was just a turn of phrase though…sorry."

He waved her apology off, getting the feeling that he would be doing that often. "No problem. I heard 'chips' and got all excited."

Weiss crossed her arms and glared at the blond for interrupting her conversation. "Why would you care about poker chips anyway?"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at her. "Because of this." He pointed down at his crotch. "It's my symbol."

He tapped his belt buckle, which showed four playing cards, all aces, on the bottom right corner, with a poker chip in the center that had 1000 around the edges, and a pair of dice showing snake eyes. "I'm a bit of a gambler." Naruto admitted easily.

"That is inappropriate." Weiss stated snootily.

He shrugged and pulled out a silver poker chip and ran it across his knuckles. "Yeah, but I'm good at it. Lady Luck is on my side…at least when it comes to gambling."

The blond flipped the chip through the air and caught it, somehow making it disappear. He held out hand to the girl with long red hair. "Hi, I'm Naruto."

"Pyrrha." She replied with a small smile.

Weiss noticed a lack of alarm in Naruto's eyes and decided to question it. "Do you know who this is?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

Naruto quirked in eyebrow. _Is this a trick question? She just introduced herself._ "…Pyrrha?"

"Hello!"

"She graduated top of her class at Sanctum?" The white-haired girl offered, looking at Naruto like he was 'special'.

Naruto blinked a few times. "Is that supposed to mean something?" He asked blankly.

The incredulous look on Weiss' face was hilarious, Naruto admitted to himself. "She's won the Mistral Tournament four years in a row! A new record!"

The blond shook his head. "I don't understand. Are-are you hungry? Weiss, are you hungry? Are you cold?"

Weiss blinked at the sudden turn in the conversation. "W-what? No!"

"Do you need a blanket? Weiss, do you want some hot dogs and a blanket?" Naruto asked in fatherly voice.

The Schnee heiress had a rather impressive vein throbbing on her forehead. Pyrrha smiled and decided to mercy-kill the conversation before the other girl had an aneurism. "I think she means that I'm, uh, kind of, well, well-known. I was a model on a cereal box."

Naruto snapped his fingers as he made the connection. "Ah, I wondered why I was so interested in you." He said to himself, not seeing the light blush color Pyrrha's cheeks. "Pumpkin Pete's…something flakes, right?"

She nodded cheerfully. "Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you."

"I wouldn't know, I don't really eat cereal." Naruto replied. "I thought I was focusing on you because of your red hair."

Pyrrha blinked. "…My hair?" She asked in confusion.

"Yeah," He nodded, pointing at her waist-length crimson hair. "Red hair is awesome."

The girl blushed and started stroking her hair.

"You don't eat cereal?" Weiss finally got back into the conversation as it ended.

Naruto glanced at her. "That's all you got from this conversation? Yes, I don't eat cereal. I am man. I eat pancakes. Bacon pancakes. And sometimes just bacon."

"That doesn't sound healthy." Pyrrha commented.

He shrugged. "Well, I try to balance it out." He looked down at his watch. "Oh, we should get going. I mean, I'm going to get going. I want to be early for initiation. You can come with me if you want, I mean, you don't have to, but…"

Naruto shut his mouth after babbling. "I'm going to leave now."

He turned on his heel and marched off. He always got flustered around girls with red hair for some reason. The exact reason eluded him, but it was annoying.

Naruto walked to the cliffs where the initiation was taking place, finding that maybe four people were there as well. One was the girl with bow, reading a book, another was a guy with long black hair and a pretty cool green tailcoat with an excitable girl chattering at him.

He took the pad on the far end and pulled out small stick with white being the predominant color and an orange tip. He pressed a button and the end lit up after he stuck it in his mouth.

"Those things will kill you, ya'know?" Yang commented, taking a spot next to her sister. "And you have to be eighteen to buy those."

Naruto snorted. "Yang, smoking will definitely not be the thing that kills me in this line of work, and you're one to talk, Ms. Strawberry Sunrise." He exhaled and pointed at the cloud. "Also, this isn't smoke, it's water vapor. This is electronic. And I'm eighteen."

The guy on the pad next to Yang looked at him condescendingly. "You're eighteen? What, did you get held back a year at Signal or something?"

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at the orange-haired man. "Okay, one: I never went to Signal or Sanctum or the others. I work for living. And two: shut up, who asked for your opinion? Not me."

The guy opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by a sudden guitar solo.

"_It's all over, rock and roll is dead! Aaaoow! Rock is dead, rock is dead, rock is dead, rock is dead! Get that freight train outta my head, because a rock'n'roll is-a fuckin' dead!"_

"Oh, that's me." Naruto said, bringing up his left glove, one of the metal plates blinking. He tapped it and his scroll opened, showing a picture of a girl with green hair and green eyes with the name 'Christine' underneath. "Ah, it's Chris"

He tapped a green button and the screen was replaced with a live video feed of the same girl, this time with messy hair and bags under her eyes. _"Naruto!"_ The girl yelled. _"Dammit, why didn't you tell me you were going to Beacon?! I had to find out from the story about you posing in your underwear with a bunch of girls on the morning news!"_

"It was a spontaneous thing, Chris, I would've called you, but…I was tired, so I didn't." He shrugged at the girl, unaware of the looks he was garnering.

The girl sighed and palmed her face. _"Naruto, I'm your Publicist, how I am supposed to deal with the public when you don't tell me anything? I mean, I know you like your music career, and running off do to get random jobs, but come on! School?!"_ The girl called Chris shouted at the end. _"How are you supposed to run a company from school?!"_

Weiss marched up to Naruto to tell him to quiet down and caught the 'run a company' bit. "You, run a company?"

He glanced up at her and the girl on the screen quirked an eyebrow. _"Who's that?"_ She asked.

"Weiss Schnee." He replied, blowing out more vapor.

"_The Schnee Heiress?"_ Chris asked incredulously. _"Really? And…and she doesn't know who you are?"_ She collapsed back in her chair, guffawing loudly.

Naruto shrugged. "To be fair, I haven't told except the Headmaster the full name." He looked at Weiss and held out his right hand. "Hello, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you."

Weiss took his hand and shook slowly before her eyes shot open. "Uzumaki?! You're _the_ Naruto Uzumaki?!"

Said man named Naruto Uzumaki bowed slightly. "Yes, yes I am."

The white-haired girl pointed in his face, ignoring the loud laughter coming from his scroll. "You're the CEO of Uzu Combat Industrials?"

"Indeed." Naruto said. "And Vale Weekly's Sexiest Man of the Year, two years running."

"Wait!" Ruby called, interrupting the conversation. "Uzu Combat Industrials?"

"Yeah." The blond man replied. "We're an up-and-coming Arms and Armor Creator and Supplier based out of the Atlas kingdom. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of us yet. Yet. We've only just started putting out feelers into Vale."

"Aha! So that's where I recognized you!" Yang shouted, pointing a finger into the air.

Naruto blinked. "Wait, really? You have some kind of spy network?"

The blonde shook her head. "No! Vale's Sexiest Man! I thought I recognized that tattoo! And those abs."

The blond let out a barking laugh. "Ah, yeah. I saw the competition going on and thought I'd submit a couple photos. They liked them so much that I won. And they didn't bother last year either, just named me the winner." He tapped his chin. "It might be because I slept with editor…"

"_Really?"_ Chris asked incredulously.

Naruto glared at his publicist. "You know me better than that, I was joking."

Weiss gaped at him before finding her speech again. "How come I didn't recognize you? I read a story about you while we were on the airship!"

He quirked an eyebrow at her and set his sunglasses on his face. "It's kinda crazy how a pair of sunglasses makes me nearly unrecognizable." And then he shrugged. "I'm not complaining, though."

A beeping came from the video feed and Chris sighed. _"Look, that's probably another one of our angry shareholders, I gotta deal with this. You need to release a statement or something, 'cause our backers are going crazy, Naruto. Call me back."_

The video died and Naruto's scroll closed. "Huh." He said to himself. "They went crazy when I made a band too, you'd think they'd have more faith in me."

Yang asked, "You're in a band?" He nodded. "Which one?"

"Undertow." Naruto answered simply. "We're on hiatus right now. Our drummer's mom is sick and bassist is getting married."

The blonde gaped at him as Ruby scratched at her head. "'Combat' Industrials? You make weapons?"

Naruto nodded and tapped his glove. "Yeah. I made these. I'm a Prototyper, I think of new ideas for weapons and then go about making them. These and Staccato Blitz are actually version eight of the first weapons I ever made."

Weiss pointed a finger in his face. "Your company isn't better than the Schnee Dust Company." It came out as less angry and more rehearsed than anything.

The blond waved her hand away and inhaled from his stick. "According to our stocks and the business journals, yes we are. We have higher quality products for a reasonable price without the controversial labor. Plus, our Compression Technology is far superior."

"O-oh yeah?" The white-themed girl stammered. "Your gloves are weapons, right? Why aren't they compressed, Mister CEO?"

He sighed and tapped a plate on the gloves. The leather separated, revealed to be brown-colored metal, and folded up, as did the plates on the back of the glove, until it became nothing more than simple pair of fingerless gloves with a metal plate on the back. "I like them decompressed. And this is only the simplest of our tech, Weiss." He said, flipping his silver chip.

"Ahem," Someone cleared their throat.

Everyone looked to the source and found Ozpin and Glynda waiting. Weiss scooted back to her pad and the Headmaster began to speak.

"For years, you have trained to be warriors." His eyes flickered over the students. "And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Glynda took over. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams'. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates…today."

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin stated.

Ruby groaned in dismay. Naruto nudged her and winked.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." The Headmaster finished.

"Whaaat?!" The red-wearing girl cried.

Ozpin drank from his mug. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path…or you _will_ die."

"Troublesome." Naruto muttered and stuck his hands in his pockets, exhaling a white cloud.

"You will be monitored," He pointed at the scroll in Glynda's arms, "and graded through your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard them, as well as your standing, and we will grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

No one said a word. "Good! Now, take your positions."

Everyone dropped into a pose. Naruto slipped the stick into his belt, cracked his knuckles and then his neck and crouched slightly.

Starting at the far end, the prospective Huntsmen and Huntresses where launched by off the cliff by the pad they were standing on.

Yang slipped on a pair of blue aviators and winked at her sister, flying off with a cheer. Ruby was then launched, and Naruto followed.

…

Flying through the air, Naruto spread his arms and let the wind carry him over the treetops.

Suddenly, the wind shifted and the blond began to dive-bomb at the trees.

He flipped, pointing his feet at the ground and rapidly fired the guns on the bottom of his shoes, each shot slowing him down just a bit more.

Naruto ran out of ammo and bounced off the first branch he could find, skipping over the treetops and flipping to convert his velocity to inertia.

He spotted a flash of red as he passed by a tree and flipped to the ground, planting his feet into the earth and finally skidding to a stop. The clips for his Staccato Blitz shot out of the sides of his boots, empty and steaming. Naruto caught the clips and stored them away and reloaded, tapping the heels together to make sure the rounds were the chambered and ready for use.

Branches snapped behind him, and Naruto turned to face whatever it may be, ready for battle…and then Pyrrha stepped out, wielding a red and gold spear and a bronze shield. "Hello again!" She greeted cheerfully.

Naruto dropped out of his stance and waved. "Hey there." He tilted his glasses up and placed them on his forehead, looking the red-haired girl in the eye. "Looks like we're partners."

She smiled and moved forward. "Seems like it. Ready to go?"

He nodded and turned north. "Yup. Let's get going."

They walked through the forest, enjoying the quiet and the company. "So, Naruto, do you know who to use your Aura?" Pyrrha asked.

Naruto nodded and stopped. "Yeah. Look." He exhaled and was covered by thin layer of orange-ish-red energy that wafted off of him like thin flames.

"Wow…" The spear wielder murmured. "You have a lot of it."

Naruto's aura faded and he sighed. "Yeah. Thankfully it doesn't take a lot to make a shield or speed up, otherwise I'd be screwed."

Pyrrha giggled behind her hand. They came upon a cave that had scratches on the right side of the entrance, seemingly depicting a battle between a bunch of people and a giant scorpion. "Think this is it?" Naruto asked, trying to see inside the cave and failing to pierce through the inky blackness.

"I don't know…" His partner said quietly. "The Headmaster did say we would find the relics in a temple."

He shrugged and waved for her to follow him. "Well, it's not like temples haven't been built in caves before."

They stopped before entering the mouth of the cave. "We should probably light a torch or something." Naruto said to himself. He was slightly startled as Pyrrha ripped a branch off of a tree and offered it to him. "Thanks."

He wrapped the top in old cloth and used his left glove to light it, and they descended into the cave.

After a few minutes of walking, they were starting to get discouraged. "I don't think this is the right way, sorry." Pyrrha said with sigh.

Naruto sighed as well. "Yeah, I don't think so. Let's keep walking a bit more, and if we find nothing, we'll just go back."

As he stepped over a rock and a puddle, the torch sputtered and died. "Great."

"Do you feel that?" Pyrrha asked quietly.

Naruto stood still and concentrated. "Is it…warm in here?"

A golden glow appeared a few feet in front of them. "Hey, do you think that's the relic?" Naruto asked, slightly excited.

"Could be!" She replied, sounding happy as well. "Wait…there's only one…the Headmaster said 'relics'…"

Suddenly, eight red eyes opened, glowing in the darkness along with red markings that would only be found on a Grimm.

Naruto sighed. "Lady Luck, you dirty little tease…" It was said with what amounted to fondness, despite the situation.

"Running time?" Pyrrha asked calmly.

"Yep!" He replied as the Death Stalker began to chitter threateningly, "Definitely running time!"

The two turned tail and fled back the way they came, stumbling in the darkness as the Grimm screeched angrily behind them.

They exited, back out into sunlight and turned around, readying their weapons. "Alright, we're in the open now, let's take this thing-!" Naruto started to say, before the Grimm slammed through the entrance of the cave, leaving a hole three times as wide as the previous entrance, revealing the Grimm to be giant Death Stalker. "Wuh oh!"

The duo rolled away as the stinger pierced the air between them. Pyrrha came out of it and knelt under a snapping pincer, turning her javelin into a rifle and firing at the Death Stalker's face.

Naruto back-flipped over a claw and landed on the white appendage, throwing fireballs at the sinisterly glowing red eyes. The Dust-powered projectiles splashed harmlessly off the thick armor of the Death Stalker and only irritated it.

The blond Huntsman hopped from one claw to the other as the Grimm swiped at both of them with Pyrrha cart-wheeling back, switching her rifle back to a javelin and hurled it at the eyes.

The Death Stalker tilted and the spear was deflected off before it stopped and zipped back into her hand.

Naruto switched tactics and threw a ball of ice. It hit the side of the scorpion's face and quickly spread to cover four of its' eyes.

The giant Grimm screeched in anger and flicked its claws, sending Naruto into the air. The blond flipped mid air, fists drawn back to fire again, when he saw the golden glowing stinger heading straight for his face.

Naruto brought his hands in front of his face and formed a shield at the last second; the stinger impacted into his shield and hurled him through the air, over the trees and out of sight. "Son of a biii…!"

Pyrrha watched his progress in dismay until his body disappeared over the trees. She turned back to the Death Stalker and smiled nervously. It replied by releasing a chittering roar and smashing the ice off of its' eyes.

The red-haired Huntress dashed away in a spray of green leaves, and the Grimm followed after her, smashing through everything in its path.

…

Yang stepped out of the embrace of the forest into a clearing, the middle of it taken up by the ruins of some sort of old temple with numerous pedestals. "Think this it?" She asked her partner.

The black-haired girl gave her an incredulous look and began to head down the hill, with Yang following. They trod across the stone floor to the pedestals and examined the relics, which were gold and black chess pieces.

"Chess pieces?" Yang's partner, Blake, asked.

"Huh, some of them are missing." Yang observed, looking at the empty pedestals.

Blake looked at the pieces. "I guess we should pick one."

The cheerful blonde examined one of the golden knight pieces before picking it up. "How about a cute little pony?"

Blake gave a small smirk. "Sure."

They reunited in the center of the temple and traded low high-fives. "That wasn't too hard." Yang commented cheerfully, tossing the piece into the air.

"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find." Blake said, sharing a smile with Yang.

A loud explosion echoed distantly. "Well, someone's in trouble." The blonde said. "Should we help?"

Her partner didn't answer, her eye fixed on something above them. "What's that noise?" Yang wondered, finally realizing that Blake was pointing skyward.

The blonde began to panic as she saw her sister plummeting straight towards the ground, screaming, "Heeaads Uuuup!"

"Don't worry, little sis! I got-" Yang started before something flew over their heads.

"-iiitch!" Naruto impacted into Ruby, his momentum carrying both of them into a nearby tree.

"…you." The blond sister finished distantly.

Blake blinked in confusion. "Did your sister just fall from the sky?" she asked slowly.

Ruby stood up, staggering dizzily. "Ooooh…what was that?"

Branches snapped as Naruto landed on the thick limb she was standing on. "Hey, Ruby. Did you know that scorpions are dicks?" He said rather casually despite sucking wind to regain his breath.

"Naruto?" Ruby asked confusedly. "How did you hit me mid-air?"

"Because scorpions are dicks, Ruby."

A sudden crashing drew their attention to the temple as the Death Stalker smashed through the trees chasing Pyrrha. The red-haired girl leaped and rolled, narrowly dodging a swipe that would've bisected her otherwise. "Naruto!" She called worriedly.

"Whoa!" Ruby said, before running and jumping off the branch.

"Yeah, just leave me here…I'm just going to catch my breath." Naruto wheezed, pulling himself onto the branch. Slamming into a branch at just below terminal-velocity was not fun, especially after just hitting another person mid-air.

The red-cloaked girl hit the ground and looked up as yellow began to fill her vision. "Ruby!" Yang called joyfully.

"Yang!" Her sister cried back, arms spread for a hug…

"Nora!" The orange-haired girl shouted, popping in-between the two sisters and throwing them off balance.

Pyrrha sprinted in their direction, just barely keeping ahead of the swiping pincers of the Death Stalker. "Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?" Blake asked lowly.

Yang couldn't take it anymore. What with people flying through the air, that orange-haired chick riding in on an Ursa and the giant Scorpion Grimm, Yang lost it. "I can't take it anymore!" She yelled, eyes flashing red as a burst of fire wafts off of her hair. "Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!"

Ren finally caught up with Nora as the blonde took two seconds to cool down. "Umm, Yang?" Ruby tugged on her sister's puffy sleeve and pointed at the sky, where a hanging Weiss was holding onto a bone-white talon the size of her entire body.

That talon belonged to a Grimm called a 'Nevermore', a giant black bird with multiple eyes that can grow to be the size of a small air-ship.

"How could you leave me?!" The Schnee Heiress called angrily from her spot.

"She's gonna fall." Blake stated, amber eyes on the white girl.

Ruby waved it off nervously. "She'll be fine."

Ren watched as Weiss lost her grip and began to plummet to earth. "She's falling."

Naruto, finally catching his breath, looked up at the sound of a girlish scream and saw Weiss falling through the air. He sighed and walked along the branch to the trunk and assumed a sprinter's position. He waited two seconds then sprinted along the limb until he came to end, where he jumped and fired the guns in his boots.

Naruto sailed through the air with his arms outstretched. Weiss landed in a perfect bridal-style carry as he flipped and hit the ground. "Just dropping in?" He said and set her down.

The Heiress gaped at him, unable to form a coherent sentence. "I-you-I-what-?"

He winked at her from behind his sunglasses. "No need to thank me, Snow Princess."

Pyrrha leaped away from the Grimm chasing her and landed in front of the group. "Great!" Yang cheered sarcastically. "That gang's all here! Now we can die together!"

Ruby narrowed her eyes and dashed at the Death Stalker. "Not if I can help it!" She declared, shouting a battle-cry.

"Ruby, wait!" Her sister called, to no avail.

Naruto paled as he saw the red cloak fluttering in the wind. "Oh, no! Bad idea, don't do it!" He shouted, running after the younger girl.

Ruby fired her scythe and used the momentum to close the distance with the Death Stalker, blade raised high. As they met, the scorpion simply batted her aside.

The red-cloaked girl stood up slowly, a hand clutching her side. "Do-don't worry!" She called to the stunned group. "I'm completely okay!"

The blade of her Crescent Rose folded in as she fired several shots at the Grimm Scorpion's face, the high-powered rounds simply glancing off of its' thick armor. It stopped and focused on the paling Ruby, who collapsed her weapon and began to run away.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted in worry as the Nevermore swooped from the sky.

Naruto cursed as the bird snapped its' wings and threw several spear-like feathers at the retreating Huntress, pining her to the ground when a feather pierced her cape.

He dodged the feathery projectiles as he ran towards Ruby, but the Nevermore flapped its' wings again, creating a breeze that knocked Naruto off his feet.

"Ruby, get out of there!" The blonde sister called, the feathers preventing her from advancing.

"I'm trying!" Ruby shouted back, tugging on her cloak. She froze as the Death Stalker loomed above her, golden stinger drawn back to strike. She covered her head and huddled down in preparation for the pain.

The pain never came. Ruby looked up and saw Weiss standing above her with her rapier raised and a wall of ice spreading from the tip. "You are so childish!" The Schnee Heiress stated, yanking Myrtenaster from the iceberg.

"Weiss…?" The scythe-wielder asked tentatively.

"And dim-witted, and hyper-active, and don't even get me started on your fighting style!" She berated the younger girl, eyes wide and angry. "And…I suppose I can be a bit…difficult." She sighs, anger fading. "But if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So, if you quit trying to show off, I'll be…nicer."

Ruby looked down. "I'm not trying to show off." She said quietly. "I just want you too know I can do this."

Weiss gave her a stern look. "You're fine." And walked away.

The red-cloaked girl breathed a sigh of relief. "Normal knees," she whispered gratefully, before looking up and seeing the Death Stalker's stinger a few feet away. "Whoa!"

"Ruby!" Yang cheered, wrapping her sister in a fierce hug. "I'm so happy you're okay!"

"Nevermore's coming back!" Naruto shouted as he jumped over the two sisters and landed on top of the iceberg, pointing at the giant bird dive-bombing at them.

He pulled his hands back and launched a pair of lightning strikes at the Nevermore, but the Grimm shrugged them off.

Naruto huffed and held his hands open. Lightning crackled over his gloves as he brought them together and fired a concentrated beam at the Nevermore's face.

The blue beam slammed into the Grimm Bird's face, causing it to screech in pain and aborted the dive.

The blond released the energy and grunted, taking a stance with his arms slightly spread. Lightning built up around the palms of his hands, so much that a persistent screech began to ring around him.

Naruto roared as he spread his arms, releasing a blinding barrage of blue lightning that engulfed the Nevermore as thunder boomed from the air being split.

The light faded, and the Nevermore, slightly more crispy than before, cawed angrily and flew away.

The blond stepped off the iceberg and strode back to the group, who had watched in awe at the lightshow, joined by Ruby and Yang.

As Naruto walked, he flicked his wrists and the metal plates on the back of Asura Fist popped open and ejected a pair of thin, very light blue crystals that faded into dust before hitting the ground. He slotted another pair inside and the plates closed.

"Alright, we need to come up with plan." He said seriously, "Do we run or fight?"

Weiss turned and looked at the pedestals and the chess pieces resting there. "There's no need. Our objective is right here."

Ruby nodded resolutely. "She's right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliffs. There's no point in fighting these things."

"Alright." Naruto nodded. "Grab it and run. Sound like a plan?"

Everyone agreed as Ruby and the blond moved forward into the temple. The red-cloaked girl grabbed the golden knight piece while Naruto laid claim to the golden castle piece. They smiled at each other and, at the same time, took the pieces from their pedestals.

A crack sounded out as the Death Stalker pulled at the iceberg encompassing its stinger. "Time we left!" Ren said, calmly but urgently.

"Yup!" Nora agreed cheerily.

The group took off, following behind Ruby and Naruto as they led them up a path that was lined with stone pillars, coming upon a series of ruins that spanned between the next cliff and seemingly bottomless canyon.

"Let's move! That bridge won't support the Death Stalker's weight!" Naruto shouted, pointing at the thin stone bridge leading to a crumpled spire.

As they began to cross the bridge, a loud screech drew their attention to the returning Nevermore as it dived at them, one wing cutting through bridge easily, separating them into two groups; Ruby, Weiss, Yang and Nora still on a path to the ruins; and Naruto, Ren, Pyrrha and Blake on the other, with the Death Stalker skittering towards them.

Naruto skidded to a stop as the bridge crumbled in front of him; Blake slid on the stone and nearly fell off the edge before the blond seized her around the waist and hopped back as the chunk of stone they had been standing on broke off and disappeared into the mists at the bottom of the canyon.

The group turned around and faced the Death Stalker as it waited at the foot of the bridge. "Guys, I have plan." Naruto announced, cracking his knuckles and eyeing the golden stinger hovering threateningly over the scorpion's head. "It's crazy and we might die, but that's kind of a given in this situation."

"What do we need to do?" Blake asked firmly.

Naruto glanced at her and pointed at the stinger. "None of our weapons are heavy enough to pierce the Death Stalker's armor, but I know from experience that stinger packs a punch. We need to separate it from the Grimm!"

"I need you guys to occupy the claws!" He shouted, "I'll get it to strike with the stinger! Go!"

Blake, Pyrrha and Ren dashed forward, firing at the Grimm's face while staying just out of range of the claws.

Naruto ran forward, firing lances of lightning from his palms at the Death Stalker's face. "Come on, you unhappy son-of-a-bitch!" He taunted, getting within the middle of the Scorpion's claws and unleashing a streaming of lightning at its eyes.

He distantly heard Pyrrha shout, "Sorry!" but focused on zapping the white face in front of him. With both pincers occupied, the Death Stalker pulled its tail back and plunged it forward, looking to spear the annoyance that kept shocking its eyes.

Naruto rolled away as the stinger pierced the ground before rolling right back and grabbing it and holding it down. "Ren!" He called.

Ren dashed behind him and slashed across the closest joint on the tail with both of his bladed guns, then grabbed onto the other side. "Pyrrha!"

The red-haired Huntress dodged away from her claw and ran at the two with her red and gold javelin held like a sword. She brought the blade back and swung mightily, rending the stinger from the tail in one stroke.

The Death Stalker screeched in pain as Naruto hefted the stinger over his head and tossed it into the air. Ren dashed into the air off of Naruto's back and kicked the airborne stinger with both legs, making it stab into the Grimm Scorpion's carapace.

"That wasn't deep enough!" Naruto shouted. He looked around, noting Ren, Pyrrha and…_Nora? Where did Blake go?_ The blond also noticed the large silver hammer she was swinging. "Nora!"

The orange-haired girl looked at him, then at the stinger he was pointing at, and got the idea. She boosted off of Pyrrha's shield and flipped, and fired her hammer/grenade launcher combo, shooting her down. The silver head of her hammer impacted on the stinger and drove it deep it the Death Stalker's brain.

The giant scorpion gave a high-pitched scream and stumbled forward slowly in a death-haze; the group jumped over the Death Stalker as it slowly slid off the cliff, giving one final cry before it disappeared into the mists.

Naruto laughed in relief and slapped a panting Ren on the back. "Yeah! Go team!" He bumped fists with Pyrrha and got a high-five from Nora.

Just then, they noticed the Nevermore flying towards the cliff face with Yang firing rounds down its throat while holding the beak open. The blonde girl jumped as it slammed into the cliff and landed in a run as Weiss dashed past her and froze the rising Grimms' tail to a rock.

Blake shot her ribbon at Yang and the two tighten it around a pair of columns as Ruby pulled it back and mounted Crescent Rose as the make-shift sling was caught by a black sigil.

Naruto and the others arrived as Weiss shouted, "Of course I can!"

Ruby pumped her scythe and the Schnee Heiress turned the black sigil red and launched the red-cloaked girl with enough force to crack the ground.

They watched as Ruby fired Crescent Rose and hooked the Nevermore's neck with the blade, dragging them to the cliff face.

Weiss waved her rapier and created a line of white glyphs going up the cliff face that allowed Ruby to run up the wall, pulling the giant Grimm behind her, firing the rifle part of Crescent Rose to increase her speed even more.

As she reached the top of the cliff, the scythe-wielding Huntress shouted and pulled with all her strength, separating the Nevermore's head from its shoulders in a spray of what seemed to be crimson rose petals.

Naruto set his hands on his hips and sighed. "What a day," He said to himself. "And to think, this is only the beginning."

As the group celebrated, Blake looked over the blond with a critical eye. _Why are you so familiar?_ She wondered. _Where have I met you before?_

Unconsciously, her mind went back to her first sighting of the man.

_Blake watched as the news report detailed a robbery, followed by an attack by the White Fang on a Faunus rally, scowling softly. The report was interrupted by a hologram of Glynda._

_The black-haired girl glanced over her shoulder at the sound of a scoff, finding a tall blond man wearing sunglasses standing a bit behind her. "Peace is a lie," She heard him mumble as he walked off, shaking his head._

_Where have I heard that?_ She thought, trying to search her memories. Her amber eyes were fixed on Naruto as they began to march back towards the cliff they had been fired from. _You are a mystery, Naruto._ Blake thought, unconsciously smiling and licking her lips. _This is just like one of my books._

…

…

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." Ozpin listed as four pictures of the students he mentioned lined up on the screen above an applauding crowd. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by Cardin Winchester!"

The crowd clapped again as the group of guys walked off the stage and were replaced by Naruto, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren. "Naruto Uzumaki. Pyrrha Nikos. Lie Ren. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team NNRV, led by Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose as Pyrrha slapped him on the back. "Dammit…"

Ozpin smirked slightly at the dismayed blond as he was led off the stage. "And finally. Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY, led by…Ruby Rose!"

The red-cloaked girl was in shock as Weiss gaped in surprise and Yang pulled her sister into a hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Whoo! Go Ruby!" Naruto cheered, clapping loudly.

The headmaster smiled to himself. "Looks like this is shaping up to be an…interesting year."

…

Far, far away from Beacon, a train traveled in the night, the tracks light sporadically by lights.

The train had never been full of people; it was a cargo train. The cargo: Dust. Crystals and powders. It was empty of the people who had loaded it onto the train, as well as the conductor and the guards. All had been killed and thrown off of the tracks.

A pair of White Fang troops were loading heavy silver cases with a white snowflake on the sides onto a trolley near the front of the train. "Well, one thing you can say about the Schnee bastards is that they don't skip on the padding." One grunted out as he placed another crate on the stack, dog-ears drooping from exhaustion. "Just about the only good thing you can say about them."

"Doesn't make these damn things any lighter." His companion, a goat Faunus with little brown horns griped, wiping sweat from his brow. "At least the wind helps." He muttered, gesturing to the open train door with trees whipping by.

The dog-eared troop sighed. "Alright, just one more-"

"**Here you go."**

The Faunus jumped a little at the case held in front of him but took the box with a nod. "Thanks."

The goat Faunus frowned. "Who're you talking to?"

The dog Faunus paused and turned around, freezing in terror.

Standing over him like a specter, his cloak seemingly sucking in the shadows, the white slits and smoke-like designs stood out in horrifying detail. **"Hey."** The Shadow Grimm greeted easily; and then struck like lightning, an armored black fist crossing the distance in a blink and met the Faunus' throat with a crunch.

As he fell to his knees gasping for the air, the Shadow leapt over the stack of crates and kicked the goat Faunus in the chest and sent him out of the train door, where he disappeared with a short scream.

"_What was that?"_ A radio crackled in the choking Faunus' ear.

The Shadow moved behind the dog-eared man and quickly snapped his neck, ending his life. He picked out the radio and tapped his throat. **"Hello, hell**o, hello." He muttered, his voice changing to match the dog Faunus' voice. Once he was satisfied, he opened the radio channel. "We just found another human. He was hiding in a crate, begging us not to kill him. So we…_let him off_ with a warning."

"_Heh, what a coward. Hurry up and get those cases down here, we don't want any visitors."_

"On it." The Shadow replied, then dropped the radio and crushed under an armored boot.

He strode through the compartment and entered another, this one with three Faunus pushing a loaded trolley.

Twin silver blades flashed as he leapt forward, slicing through the throat of the first and kicking another against the wall. He spun and hamstringed the last before stabbing through her heart.

"He's here!" One of the Faunus yelled into his radio before the Shadow quickly stomped on his neck.

In the next compartment, three Faunus waited with guns trained on the door as another quickly shoved a trolley down the hallway.

They waited silently for a minute, nervously sweating.

"Hmmph!" One tried to scream as a black armored hand closed over his mouth and he disappeared with a soft, airy sucking sound.

The others turned on his spot and fired wildly, hitting nothing but the wall as a distant scream came from outside of the train. A black cloud appeared behind another Faunus as the Shadow kneed her in the spine and swept his cape across the face of the other, bent her backwards and broke her neck, then spun and stabbed the last White Fang in the heart.

The Shadow began to run down the compartments, as they were empty and the doors were open.

"Faster!" Someone shouted in panic as he sprinted.

He arrived at the last compartment as they loaded a cart full of silver cases onto a Bullhead. A White Fang lieutenant with a full face mask that was colored by red markings looked up as the figure enshrouded in black came ever closer. "Pull up!" He shouted to the pilot.

The Bullhead lifted up, away from the train as the Shadow made to the last car. "Say goodbye," The lieutenant muttered, flicking a detonator open and depressing the red button, activating the charges placed.

The last car exploded, flames consuming the metal husk, throwing it from the tracks to tumble into the forest.

The White Fang lieutenant scoffed to himself in satisfaction, then growled as the smoke faded, revealing the Grimm Shadow standing on the new last train car, glaring up at him through his black mask.

The Shadow watched as the Faunus lifted his left hand and gave him the finger. His hand flicked out and streak of silver shot across the distance, the knife imbedding into the lieutenants' hand.

He heard the shout of pain even through the rushing wind and watched dispassionately as the Bullhead pulled away and shot into the night.

His mask slid up, blue eyes watching the fading light of the ships' engines. He huffed and pressed a finger to his ear and activated the radio. "Control, this is Shadow." He reported calmly. "They got away, but with only half the shipment and without eight men."

"_Good, that's better than what we were hoping for."_ Control replied. _"You should get back to Beacon, Naruto. You'll need your sleep."_

Naruto sighed. "Roger that, Control."

He gazed up at the scattered moon as the train passed over a bridge. His mask slid home and he dived off the side, shooting towards the water and spread his cape, the black material catching the air, letting him glide over the water.

He flew over the bay until he, like the sun, disappeared into the night.

…

…

**A/N: So, I'm just going to come out and say it: This Naruto is based on both Batman and Iron Man, with more of the former and a little less of the latter. He is the rich owner of weapons and armor company that uses his technology to fight crime, without Batman's dumbass 'No killing' rule.**

**As for the songs, I like them, therefore they will be here. I know it's 'cheezey', but I honestly don't care. I haven't done it before, and I'm doing it now. As I said before, where they fit.**

**Speaking of, first song on the guitar is Ewan Dobson, called 'Best Friend'. Take that as you will. Second song is by Seether, called 'Effigy'. A rather high-energy song, I like it and I play during the mornings. The second is called "Rock is Dead" By Tenacious D, also a really good song that is far too short.**

**Read, Review and Enjoy!**

**Stay Awesome.**

**~Soleneus**

**P.S.: If you're going to leave a question, do it with a profile so I can reply. I don't believe in taking up a thousand words to reply to every review at the start of every chapter, because that's stupid. You know who you are.**

**Also, if you have songs that you think I might like, add it to a review.**

**Stay Awesome Some More.**

**~still Soleneus.**


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